Bloodbending is one of the most powerful forms of bending in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it’s possible that Hama wasn’t the first bloodbender in the world. Introduced in season 3, episode 8, “The Puppetmaster,” bloodbending is a form of waterbending that involves manipulating the water within another’s body, essentially exerting your will over somebody else. In “The Puppetmaster,” Team Avatar meets Hama, a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe who developed the technique while locked away in a Fire Nation prison.
Bloodbending reappears in The Legend of Korra season 1, with villains Amon and Tarrlok being the descendants of notorious bloodbending criminal Yakone. When Korra connects with Aang’s spirit, she sees how Yakone terrorized Republic City and how Aang managed to defeat him. Yakone very nearly killed Aang, but Aang entered the Avatar State and broke free of Yakone’s bloodbending grip. He then took away Yakone’s bending, just as he took away Fire Lord Ozai’s.
While Hama is considered the first bloodbender in the Avatar universe, Aang countering Yakone’s bloodbending in the Avatar State suggests that a previous Avatar may have faced a similar threat; this would mean that Hama is not actually the first bloodbender. Based on the role of the Avatar State as well as the extensive number of unknown Avatars, it’s perfectly reasonable that the Avatar may have encountered bloodbenders before Hama, which is why the theory has been popularized over the years.
The first fact lending credibility to the theory that Hama wasn’t the first bloodbender is that Aang defeats Yakone while in the Avatar State. The Avatar State allows the current Avatar to access all the knowledge and abilities of the previous Avatars. For example, thanks to the Avatar State, Aang is able to bend elements he hasn’t mastered yet. He is also able to escape Yakone’s bloodbending, something he could not do by himself. This hints at a previous Avatar meeting a bloodbender and learning how to escape their grip. When Aang enters the Avatar State in his fight against Yakone, he could be receiving that prior knowledge.
It’s also important to keep in mind that there are almost 10,000 years between Avatar Wan, the first Avatar, and Korra. During this time, many Avatars faced a variety of threats, not all of which are covered in the series or comics. It’s certainly possible that an Avatar – or multiple Avatars – could have encountered bloodbenders. Since bloodbending is a rare ability, it may not have been common knowledge, which is why Hama believes she invented the technique. Bloodbending’s rareness could also explain why previous Avatars did not inform Aang of the threat – perhaps the Avatars with knowledge of bloodbending were too far back in the cycle to effectively communicate with Aang through means other than the Avatar State.
Since Aang defeats a bloodbender in the Avatar State, it’s fair to theorize that a previous Avatar fought a bloodbender and that Hama is not the first bloodbender after all. While all of this remains speculation, the theory that Hama is not actually the first bloodbender opens up the history of the Avatar universe. It allows viewers to consider the kinds of threats unnamed Avatars faced and the kinds of knowledge they may have gained from these encounters. The fact that this exists as a theory is a testament to Avatar: The Last Airbender’s rich lore and world building, as well as fans’ dedication to filling in the blanks in the show’s history.
